His intention was simple: to pay me a compliment. With a proud smile, he announced to the group, “Younwoo, you’re so tough, such a go getter. You’re...a bitch!” I knew his intention. Still, I was mortified - livid, even - that my lifelong mentor thought it appropriate to sum up all of my efforts and achievements into one offensive slur, a backhanded compliment at its finest. And try as I might, I could not move past my...

I interviewed with Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Wellesley College, Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University. Harvard, Wellesley, Duke, and Johns Hopkins' interviews were held at cafes; Brown, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern were at interview centers; Yale and Princeton were over the phone; and the University of Pennsylvania was over Skype. All of the interviewers asked what my interests are, why I applied to their school, my strengths and weaknesses, and my future plans. Before going into the interviews, I always researched beforehand of what I could about my...

Besides having a unique essay and extracurricular activities, make sure that your foundation is solid. By foundation, I mean your grades, test scores, and even generic extracurricular activities (community service clubs, marching band, sports, etc). The first...

Essays and extracurriculars! Keep in mind that many, if not most, of the applicants to Harvard are valedictorians and top-score earners. So, excellent grades and test scores are not enough to gain admittance. Don't be afraid to take risks in your essays. For example, my first line in my Common App essay is: His intention was simple: to pay...

Unfortunately, I missed the deadlines for a lot of the major scholarships, like the Gates Millennium Scholarship and the Coca-Cola Scholarship. But, I applied to numerous smaller scholarships in...

Brilliant - Not going to lie, Harvard people are brilliant. During Visitas, I met simply amazing people there. There is a student in my year who was on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List. I also met many national and international olympiad awardees. Active - One of the most noticeable characteristics I perceived during my stay at Harvard was that all of the students were busy doing something. They were all very active in their newest research project, news journal, nonprofit, and whatever other activity they had. I absolutely loved this since I enjoy being productive. After all, being around productive people inspires...